Secret Shihōin Scrolls
While still a Shinigami, Valentino (known as Yozoka Shihoin) developed a series of techniques he called "Hoho Incorporation" and stored the fundamentals to these techniques in a series of scrolls he called the Secret Shihōin Scrolls. Overview Only one who regularly trained in the method Yozoka did, by focusing Reiatsu into one's body so you could perform amazing feats and train your body to the extreme, could use. They also had to be masters in Hoho and have surperior perception. They also had to be taught by Yozoka a bit in person, because the diagrams in his scrolls didn't show all the information necessary. The secret is not only to perform the movements, but also when to use them, and the proper amount of Reiatsu to incorporate into the Flash Steps. A very difficult series of technique, takes about ten months to master all of them. Another very important part of the techniques is that they target certain parts of a Shinigami's body, and that causes them to do extra damage. Being with 4th and being with Kito has given him this information of where to aim. Anyone who has either not seen the techniques before, or has slower movement than Yozoka (which is a lot) is susceptible to these techniques. They eat up his Reiatsu though, and he cannot carry a whole battle on only these techniques. The scrolls were (and still are) very secret, only Yozoka, his best friend, and his captain knew about them. They are all dead now, so the scrolls lie forgotten in Yozoka's secret place. The old head of the Shihoin House knew of the scrolls' existense, but never looked in them and so forgot about them. A cult-like following of Valentino still resides in Menos Forest somewhere. It's thought they have this scroll. Techniques Hakuda -''' '''Flash (Buraindo) By concentrating Shunpo into one area of his body, Yozoka can fire a super-hard, super-fast strike. Usually uses it as a palm strike, but sometimes as kicks or other attacks. He normally uses his superior speed to get into positions where he can use the opponent's momentum against them and then pull off other combos and finish with hard Buraindo strikes. : Stepping Kick (Suteppu no Kikku) Yozoka uses Buraindo in a kick from the side, the opponents neck ends up opposite Yozoka's knee, he can flex and break the enemy's neck with this technique. Kido- Singing Fingers (Uta no Yubi) Less of techniques, and more of a way of using techniques, Yozoka came up with a way of combining Shunpo in hand signs, so he could produce many multi-layered and elaborate spells normally requiring minutes of consecutive execution in a couple of seconds because of using the hand signs so quick. He could never actually use Kido that well, so he didn't make it for himself, but rather for his friend who was in Kido Corps. His friend never got to use it, though, he died before Yozoka completed the method. Zanjutsu-''' '''The Nine Dances (Kyū Dansu no Ugoki) Combining both the teachings of Aikido, Hoho and Zanjutsu, Yozoka developed nine of his own Aiki-ken techniques. In order to use all of the techniques, he must cover his blade with Reiatsu and fully synchronize with his Zanpakuto spirit. #'Step Sword (Suteppu no Ken)' A two-step technique, in the first step Yozoka raises his sword, in the second he slashes diagonally downward to return the sword to his side. He uses Hoho to make this technique so fast, its almost impossible to dodge. The specialty of this technique is that if used at the proper time, Yozoka can take out almost anybody with less Reiatsu than he. As the first dance, Yozoka called it "weaker and infinitely easier" than the others. Its power is comparably to that of Nadegiri, only much more focused and aimed. #'Moonlight Dance (Tsukiakari no Dansu)' A defensive strike where Yozoka focuses Shunpo only in his arm, he swings it around in a 3/4 circle to repel all incoming attacks. The combonation of synchronizing with his Zanpakuto and covering the blade makes it so that even Kido-based attacks will be blocked, and it also widens the blade in a sense, so that the blocking is not limited to only the thin edge of the sword. #'Siren Song (Yūwaku no Kotoba)' Yozoka holds his sword high to his chest, shifts his stance a bit to the side, and lunges forward. He increases the speed of the jump by using Shunpo at the exact moment of him pushing off the ground. While he is in the enemy's blind spot (during actually imapling) he swings it around (with Shunpo concentrated in his arms) and aims toward special places in the enemy's body where Reiatsu is handled, and his momentum carries him forward, so in the end it leaves Yozoka in the same stance as Step Sword did. All in all, it looks like Yozoka goes from one side of the enemy to the other, like he only slashed once, but actually hit 13 vital spots. During the technique he can't see where he's aiming, so has to practice a whole lot so he can slash blindly and still hit the desired spots. #'Raining Steps (Suteppusu ga Ame)' Yozoka has to jump a little to use this attack. Aiming about 45 degrees toward his enemy, he lunges forward with extreme Shunpo focused in his arm, wrist, and hands. With this, he can fire about 100 strikes in the time he would normally do one. The strain of using it too much can permanently damage his hands, according to Tokohana. Yozoka compared the strain of using so much Shunpo at once to trying to cover every single inch of Seretei with less than 25 steps. #'Partner Switch (Pātonāsuitchi)' A move designed to be used against another shinigami (though it could work against anyone who hangs their weapon at their waist.)Yozoka Shunpo's extremely quickly to his enemy right in front, places his hand on their chest, his other on their weapon (so long as its hanging by their waist) and depending on how they react, Yozoka will make a certain move, pushing the enemy away and drawing their weapon in one move. This way, they will be weaponless and he will have their weapon. If they're already weilding it, he can punch their fist (gripping their weapon) first to make them let go or weaken their hold, before commencing with the technique. #'Raging Steps (Suteppusu ga Abareru)' Yozoka focuses his Shunpo in his arm and slashes vertically three times in such quick succesion, its practically all three strikes at the same time. Yozoka stated "it moves so quick even I lose track of my blade" and compared it's Shunpo output to that of Raining Steps. #'One's Tango (Ichi no Tango)' A defensive move. Yozoka focuses his Shunpo on quick, light strikes. He watches his enemy's movements and strikes at small openings in their attacks. He then moves very little (without Shunpo) to evade the attack, and eventually uses a combonation of the distruption caused by his strikes (in strategic areas), and his enemy's momentum to attack. He commonly follows it up with a step-sword. #'Willow Dance (Yanagi Dansu)' A counter-attack where Yozoka goes from a block into an attack very quickly. It utilizes the fundamentals of Utsumei, and starts off with Yozoka in a horizontal edge block, then he Shunpo's forward while leaving his leg in a position so the enemy feel continues to feel resistance against their weapon as he very quickly slashes at their arms in certain spots that disrupt their strength so he can push the blade back, and then utilize the enemy's falling momentum in a step-sword. While slashing, Yozoka moves so quickly, and leaves his afterimage behind, so the enemy often doesn't realize they have been cut until after they're pushed back. #'Masquerade (Kamen Butō-Kai)' Again using the principles of Utsumei, only this time Yozoka leaves six afterimages in a cirlce around the oponent that all move like they're stabbing forward, the opponent tries to duck and Yozoka does a very powerful impale from above, using his weight to amplify its power. Users Yozoka Shihoin (deceased)